SECOND ANNUAL
SUITCASE SUNDAY
IN SUPPORT OF FORMERLY INCARCERATED-LED SERVICES & BUSINESSES
EVENT SPONSORED BY NYC SPEAKER ADRIENNE E. ADAMS
Baisley pond park, Ny, July 17, 2022
One of New York’s largest organized network of formerly incarcerated small service and business owners, Witness to Mass Incarceration (WITNESS), will host a live summer, public event for hundreds of formerly incarcerated women and men at Baisley Pond Park on Sunday, July 17, 2022, beginning at 10 am.
The event is sponsored by NYC Speaker Adrienne E. Adams. The Second Annual Suitcase Sunday event will bring together formerly incarcerated people (FIP) their families, more than 50 FIP-led services and businesses, a diverse group of congregations and religious organiza- tions, community-based organizations, local and munic- ipal governments and other supporters to celebrate the success FIP have had since being released from prison.
NYC SPEAKER ADRIENNE ADAMS
The Second Annual Suitcase Sunday will also have the following two new programs:
“Suitcase Sunday is an innovative event that helps people, who have been formerly incarcerated, build safe, healthy, and economically empowered lives,” said Speaker Adrienne Adams. “It is critical to support New Yorkers who face many barriers, especially women and LGBTQ+ individuals, upon their re-entry. The second annual Suitcase Sunday will provide a platform to showcase and uplift formerly incarcerated people-led businesses. I am grateful for the leadership of my friend Evie Litwok and the entire Witness to Mass Incarceration team for empowering formerly incarcerated New Yorkers.”
Samsonite has generously donated 100 suitcases for The Suitcase Project, for formerly incarcerated women andLGBTQ+ people. We are hoping to fill the 100 suitcases with necessities like laptops, phones, and giftcards for food, transportation, clothing, and toiletries.
This year will also feature our Voter Registration Drive, an initiative to get formerly incarcerated people to reg- ister. Only one in four formerly incarcerated people are registered to vote, and we aim to increase those num- bers.
The Suitcase Project is an 18 month new model for reentry that abandons the ineffective and cruel process of leaving a newly released person with few resources once released. The Suitcase project is innovative because there are few other programs or organizations that form a consistent and ongoing strong relationship with a newly released person prior to their release from prison, the first day of their release and for a twelve month safety net afterwards. Our staff tries to meet with each member in our program the minute they walk out of prison or when they reach a designated location. This is the period of time when we believe they are most vulnerable. We replace an experience of reentry characterized by fear and insecurity with one in which community members wrap their arms around a newly re- leased person and hopefully provide for a seamless transition back into society.
